Kashmir Shuts Down After Call for Prayers for Afzal Guru

Mukhtar Khan/Associated Press Soldiers patrolling a street in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, during a curfew on Friday.

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir â€" After relaxing the curfew for the previous two days in several parts of the Kashmir Valley, the state government once again restricted the movements of residents and vehicles before a prayer march on Friday for a militant who was executed in Delhi.

The curfew was first imposed on Feb. 9 following the execution of Muhammad Afzal, who hails from the Kashmir town of Sopore in Baramulla district. Mr. Afzal, a member of the Jaish-e-Muhammad group, was secretly hanged in the nation’s capital for his role in the deadly 2001 attack on Parliament.

Mr. Afzal, who was popularly called Afzal Guru, has widespread support among Kashmiris who believe that he had not received a fair trial.

Despite the curfew, clashes between protesters and security forces have led to the death of three people, including one minor. The state security forces renewed precautions on Friday following a call by the hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani for a march to the Eidgah graveyard in Srinagar to offer mass prayers for Mr. Afzal.

The march, however, could not take place because of the heavy presence of security forces that prevented any attempts to break the curfew. A downpour of rain for almost the entire day also made it difficult for protesters to mobilize.

A Kashmir police official, who requested not to be named since he is not authorized to spe! ak with the media, said that there were minor clashes between police and civilians in some districts on Friday afternoon. One civilian and three policemen were injured, he said.

On Friday, the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, Omar Abdullah, said on Twitter, “Even these restrictions would not have been necessary if we didn’t have amongst us those determined to create trouble out of this situation.”

While the Internet is available via broadband, Internet access on cellphones was restored in few areas including Srinagar on Friday evening after being blocked for seven days. The majority of residents in Kashmir access the Internet through their phones or laptop dongles.

Ahmed, a 23-year-old student in Kashmir University, who requested his first name not be used to avoid any retaliation, said that he had no information on the ground situation since the Internet had been blocked.

“We have beenparalyzed for a week. It’s like we are living in the Stone Age,” he said.

Mr. Ahmed, whose university has been closed since Feb. 9, added that students could not complete their assignments, and exams too had been postponed. “For graduate and postgraduate students, nothing is bookish now,” he said. “We need to constantly update material from the Internet.”

Despite the renewed restrictions, local newspapers were circulated early on Friday morning. Editors, who could not publish from Saturday to Tuesday, said that they were currently printing only about half of their regular supply, which was going to subscribers but not being sold in shops.

The Kashmir police official did not disclose whether the curfew would continue on Saturday. “We will assess the situation,” he said.